


Aiden's Johto Travels

by orphan_account



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Gold & Silver & Crystal | Pokemon Gold Silver Crystal Versions
Genre: Crystal - Freeform, Johto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-17
Updated: 2012-05-19
Packaged: 2017-11-05 13:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/406950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy named Aiden starts off his journey through Johto after arriving from Kanto, battling not only trainers but his older brother's shadow. When a Pokemon is stolen, he begins to suspect that not everyone in the world is who they seem...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Skills

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly based off Pokemon Crystal, but is set in between Generations I and II, and has elements from virtually all Pokemon media, with some liberties taken to make it less obvious that it's a game. Despite this, it's basically a Let's Play in text form only, except with my characters taking on the roles of protagonists and antagonists.  
> The discussions are either word for word or paraphrasing to make it flow better with the rest of the work.  
> (I haven't really planned this out apart from which character will appear where and in what role, so please bare with me! Gen II was my first Gen, so it's as familiar to me as the back of my hand)

Aiden stood tentatively outside Professor Elm’s lab, clutching his brand new Pokégear in his right hand. Zach was right behind him, being confident as usual.  
‘Do you want me to go in first?’ he asked.  
Aiden shook his head.  
‘I need to do something without you for once,’ he replied coolly.  
He pushed on the door and entered, his feet going one after the other automatically, and he stopped behind some book shelves. Hunched over a laptop was a man with short brown hair, glasses, and a lab coat. Zach cleared his throat loudly, which made the man jump. He looked over to the two of them before he grinned.  
‘Ah, so you must be Zach!’ he said to Aiden.  
‘No, I’m his brother, Aiden.’  
‘Huh, Professor Oak didn’t tell me you had a brother,’ Professor Elm said to Zach.  
‘I don’t think he knew I had one,’ Zach replied thoughtfully. ‘But Aiden’s more than ready to start his own journey.’ As if to emphasis the point, he put a hand on Aiden’s shoulder.  
Elm nodded and stood up from his computer. Aiden took this as a cue to hide his Pokégear under his shirt.  
‘Well, I’m pretty busy at the moment,’ he began. ‘But I have three Pokémon that I’ve just caught. They’re rare, and they’re still pretty much wild. I’ll be happy to give one to you, Aiden.’  
He gestured over to a table where three Pokéballs sat idly. Aiden walked over to the table, and Professor Elm stood next to it.  
‘The Pokémon on the left is Cyndaquil, which is a fire type,’ he explained. ‘As expected of fire Pokémon, it’s a bit of a handful.  
‘Totodile is in the middle, and it’s a water type. It has powerful jaws that clasp onto anything.  
‘Finally, we have Chikorita, a grass type. I’ve heard they’re very loyal.’  
Aiden assessed the three Pokémon in front of him carefully. He knew all about fire types, considering mum’s choice was a Charmander that was now a Charizard, and he didn’t want to burn anything down. Zach’s choice was Squirtle, because apparently he liked turtles. So, the only one left would be…  
‘So, you’ll take Chikorita?’ Elm asked gently.  
He turned to the professor and nodded. He grabbed Chikorita’s Pokéball, and pressed the centre button like he’d seen other members of his family do. A small, light green Pokémon with a green leaf on top, big, red eyes, and a collar of green spikes materialised through the red beam. Elm opened a device that looked similar to a Pokédex against it.  
‘It’s a male,’ he said.  
‘Pokémon have genders?’ Aiden asked, puzzled.  
‘It’s only been recently discovered,’ Elm answered with pride in his voice.  
‘By you?’ Zach asked, to which the professor nodded.  
‘I’ll call him… Duncan,’ Aiden said to no-one.  
‘Duncan?’ Zach repeated. ‘What kind of name is _Duncan_? It’s a stupid name.’  
‘It is not!’ Aiden argued.  
‘If you’re going to call your Pokémon stupid names…’ Zach said as he picked up the ball containing Cyndaquil.  
‘That’s not fair!’ Aiden objected.  
‘It’s not fair to call your Pokémon stupid names.’  
Duncan and Aiden both glared at Zach at the same time, silent and questioning Zach’s authority. Elm’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and then he cleared his throat. In his hands, he held two separate pieces of paper.  
‘These are the moves both of your Pokémon will learn up until level 10,’ he said as he handed one to each brother. ‘Their move sets are very similar, but obviously they have differences. Once you receive your new Pokédexes from Professor Oak, the Pokédex will take over. He’s in Route 30, just past Cherrygrove, visiting our friend Mr Pokémon.’  
‘Wait,’ Zach interjected. ‘The dude’s _actually_ called Mr Pokémon?’  
The professor blinked, seeing nothing wrong with a man named after the dominate life forces on planet Earth.  
‘Yes, he is,’ Elm answered. ‘What’s wrong with that?’  
‘It’s an absolutely ridiculous name!’  
While the two debated over the schematics of Mr Pokémon’s name, Aiden snuck out of the lab with Duncan, but not before he spied Elm’s lone assistant shaking his head at the sight. The assistant called Aiden over to give him a Potion.  
‘Use this when your Pokémon gets hurt,’ he explained. ‘It heals them. The machine behind the professor does it too, but if any of your Pokémon faint, or get a status ailment, it cures that as well.’  
‘Thanks,’ Aiden mumbled as he put the Potion in the main pocket of his bag.  
He opened the door to the outside world and a zephyr passed along in front of him with a few leaves. Elm did have an open window in his lab, but it did very little and was very stuffy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a boy with long, black hair that hid one of his eyes. He appeared to be looking at the lab through a side window. Something about him terrified Aiden, and he made the wise decision to leave him alone.  
Before he forgot, he called Duncan back into his Pokéball. Aiden walked right past the boy to Route 29. In the grass, Rattata and Pidgeys sprung out at him, along with an unknown Pokémon – one that looked like a brown raccoon that stood on its tail with a white circle on its stomach. Duncan dispatched of all quite quickly, with a mixture of Growl before Tackling.  
When he reached Cherrygrove City, an old man stood at the entrance to the city, almost asleep. Aiden remembered Zach telling him about all the useful tips he got from people when his own journey had started. He cleared his throat, which made the old man jump.  
‘Sorry!’ Aiden said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean to-‘  
The old man chuckled.  
‘Are you a rookie trainer?’ he asked, to which Aiden nodded slowly. ‘That’s okay; we were all rookies at some point. If you’d like, I can show you around.’  
‘Okay.’  
The man showed him the Pokémon Centre, the Pokémart, the sea, and finally his house, all with useful explanations on each. He thanked Aiden for listening to him before he gave him a computer chip.  
‘This is a Map Card for your Pokégear,’ the old man said. ‘When it’s inserted, it will bring up a map of Johto for you.’  
They bid each other farewell. Afterwards, Aiden fiddled around with his Pokégear until the map chip fit in. Then, he looked at the map for a little while, committing every town and city's name to memory.  
Once he was bored of that, he made a beeline to the Pokémon Centre to get Duncan healed up. The nurse was friendly, right up until she hoped to see him again. That sentence made him feel very uncomfortable. It wasn’t his first time in a Pokémon Centre either, but it was his first time using their services. That was just creepy, almost as creepy as the dude next to the lab.  
On Route 30, he was bombarded by Bug Pokémon. Twice he needed to take Duncan back to the Pokémon Centre, but he had a feeling the Chikorita was growing in strength. It wasn’t taking as long to make the wild Pokémon faint, and by the time they got to Mr Pokémon’s house, Aiden was very confident that Duncan was going to be awesome.  
‘Oh hello, you must be Aiden,’ a man in a hat at a table said. ‘Your brother said you’d come to visit.’  
Aiden walked closer so Mr Pokémon didn’t have to shout. He felt slightly annoyed that Zach had beaten him here, but that wasn’t worth crying over. Over to his right, he saw another old man sitting at a computer, and he was wearing a lab coat. Was that man Professor Oak?  
‘I gave him a Pokémon Egg that Elm wanted to study, but that’s alright,’ Mr Pokémon said kindly. ‘I’m guessing you’re here to receive a Pokédex from Professor Oak.’  
At his name, Professor Oak stood up and walked over to them.  
‘Zach said you’d be good with Pokémon,’ the Professor said. ‘May I see it?’  
Aiden released Duncan from his Pokéball, and the Chikorita shook its head with a happy chirp. Oak studied the grass-type for longer than Aiden felt was necessary, but he eventually spoke.  
‘It seems quite happy with you,’ Oak said. ‘I gave Zach a Pokédex before, but I think you deserve one as well.’  
At this, he dug into his right pocket and handed Aiden a red Pokédex, different to the one Zach had previously.  
‘It’s the latest version,’ Oak explained. ‘It automatically records data on Pokémon, but the pages aren’t filled until you capture them. It also shows what moves your Pokémon have and what levels they’re at, as well as their genders. I must get back to Goldenrod for my radio show! Good bye.’  
Aiden blinked at the door a few times, and didn’t notice Mr Pokémon healing Duncan with some mysterious power he seemed to have, which, if Aiden had have been paying attention, would have likely freaked him out. He turned around just as the man had finished.  
‘You should probably get back to Professor Elm now,’ Mr Pokémon stated.  
‘Yeah, probably,’ Aiden agreed.  
Just at the precise moment he was back outside, his Pokégear vibrated and made a ridiculous noise. He made a mental note to move it from under his shirt as he answered it with a shaky, ‘Hello?’  
‘Aiden! Thank god!’ Elm shouted. ‘Something really bad’s happened! I- just come over here right now!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually Chapter 2. Chapter 1 was just not working for me. I might post it later if I feel like it. :B


	2. Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden finds out what happened in Elm's lab, and catches his first few Pokemon.

As soon as he shoved his Pokégear into his left pocket, Aiden sprinted over the ledges, ignored the wild Pokémon that appeared out of nowhere, right up until he got to the entrance to Cherrygrove City. Standing there was a boy with black hair that covered the right half of his face – underneath it, his eye was badly damaged and there was scarring around it. (Of course, Aiden doesn’t have the happy power to see into every character like I do, but that’s why his face was covered.)  
He slowed to a halt, because the black haired boy was stopping his progress.  
‘You were in Elm’s lab, weren’t you?’ the other boy sneered.  
‘What does that have to do with you?’ Aiden answered.  
The black haired boy held out a Pokéball before he threw it. A small, light blue Pokémon appeared, with sharp teeth and-  
‘Wait, isn’t that Totodile?’ Aiden demanded.  
The other boy grinned, showing off sharp white teeth that made Aiden’s skin crawl.  
‘So you’re not as dumb as you look.’  
Duncan shot out of his Pokéball before Aiden could get a word in edgeways. The Chikorita lowered its head at the enemy, and he made a noise that sounded angry. Aiden held up his Pokédex. It told him that Duncan was now level 8, and the Totodile was level 5. Duncan knew Razor Leaf, which would make the battle quick and easy.  
‘Duncan, use Razor Leaf!’ Aiden yelled.  
A number of sharp leaves sprung out of the leaf on top of Duncan’s head, and fired at the water Pokémon. The enemy Totodile looked pretty hurt.  
‘Totodile, use Scratch!’ Black hair commanded.  
Claws scraped along Duncan, and the battle was finished with another Razor Leaf.  
‘Hmph,’ the black haired boy said. ‘Are you happy you won?’  
‘Well it was kind of expected,’ Aiden shrugged. ‘I _did_ have a type advantage. What’s your name, anyway?’  
‘Nikolai,’ he answered with a huff.  
Nikolai shoved Aiden’s winnings into his hand and ran off with his fainted Pokémon, berating it for being weak. Aiden watched him run until he got to Route 30, before Aiden started to sprint again.  
When he got to Elm’s lab, there was a police officer talking to Zach and Elm. The professor looked very distressed, and Zach had turned around when the door opened.  
‘There you are,’ Zach said.  
‘What happened?’ Aiden asked as he walked forward.  
‘A Pokémon was stolen here,’ the police officer explained. ‘Apparently it was a boy with long, black hair.’  
‘Long black hair…’ Aiden repeated. ‘Wait! I fought a trainer like that!’  
‘Did you catch his name?’ the officer demanded.  
‘I think it was Nikolai?’ Aiden answered.  
‘Thank you for your help in the investigation,’ the officer said before he left.  
Elm sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands.  
‘I can’t believe someone would steal a Pokémon!’ he moaned.  
‘I can,’ Zach said. ‘Team Rocket did that kind of thing.’  
‘They’re disbanded, Zach,’ Aiden whispered. ‘And don’t make Elm feel even worse!’  
‘I’m not!’ Zach hissed back.  
Elm stood up and walked to the open window and shut it.  
‘Well, at least there’s nothing else that can be stolen…’ he said mournfully.  
Aiden watched Zach’s eyes darted to Elm’s computer, but Zach remained silent. He looked as though he’d remembered something and took his backpack off his shoulders. He rested it on Elm’s desk while he brought out something. It was a very large, cream coloured egg, with blue and red hollow triangles as markings.  
‘Mr Pokémon wanted me to give this to you,’ Zach explained.  
Elm turned around, and his eyes lit up.  
‘Is that a Pokémon egg?’ he asked happily.  
Zach shrugged.  
‘Well this is very exciting!’ Elm chirped. ‘Thank you!  
‘Now, I think you two should try the Gym Leaders here in Johto. They’re very different to the ones in Kanto, Zach, and may provide more of a challenge. The nearest Gym is in Violet City, two Routes over. Did Professor Oak give you both Pokédexes?’  
Aiden took his out from his right pocket to show to Elm, while Zach spent a little while longer in his backpack.  
‘It doesn’t matter, I believe you,’ Elm said. ‘My assistant will give you both enough Pokéballs to have a full party.’  
‘A party?’ Aiden asked, thinking of birthday parties.  
‘Yeah,’ Zach said. ‘You can have up to six at a time, and when you go over the limit, any Pokémon you catch automatically be transferred to Bill’s PC. You remember Bill, don’t you?’  
‘Vaguely,’ Aiden admitted.  
Zach told him once of a man who loved to collect rare Pokémon, and who had also invented the Pokémon storage system. The man had once accidentally swapped bodies with a Pokémon, which neither Zach nor Aiden believed. Elm’s assistant appeared around the corner from the book shelves and handed five Pokéballs each to Aiden and Zach.  
‘Good luck,’ he said before he disappeared again.  
The two brothers thanked him, and they walked out of the lab.  
‘Do you want me to show you how to catch Pokémon?’ Zach asked.  
‘All right,’ Aiden replied.  
They walked into some grass, until a Rattata appeared. Zach called out his Cyndaquil, who Tackled the Rattata a few times before he got out one of the empty Pokéballs. He threw it at the purple rat, which disappeared in a flash of red light. The ball jiggled once, twice, three times, before it stopped. Zach walked over to the ball and picked it up.  
‘And that’s how you catch a Pokémon,’ he explained. ‘It helps to give the other Pokémon a status ailment like poison, and to have the wild Pokémon at a low HP.’  
‘Right, thanks.’  
‘See you around, Aid,’ Zach said before he walked off with a wave.  
All of a sudden, Aiden felt very excited. He was about to start his own Pokémon journey, catch his own Pokémon, and write his own stories… He started to walk without looking where he was going, and one of the brown Pokémon he’d encountered before appeared. The Pokédex said it was a level 3 female, and it was a Sentret. Duncan Tackled her a few times until her health got low, and Aiden threw a Pokéball.  
The ball wiggled three times and it stopped. Aiden picked it up with the excited feeling growing stronger. His first wild Pokémon! He decided to call her Stacey. Now Zach couldn’t berate him for giving his Pokémon stupid names. He walked back to Elm’s lab to heal the two Pokémon.  
Once he was back in the grass, a level 2 male Pidgey flew straight at him. He had just enough time to bat it away with his hands and bring out Duncan. Razor Leaf would have been ineffectual, so once again, Duncan Tackled until the bird’s health got low. He became Aiden’s third Pokémon, and he named him Morgan. Aiden kept going, ignoring most of the wild Pokémon that appeared, until he got to Cherrygrove.  
He healed up his Pokémon and made his way to the Pokémart, where he bought a number of Potions. He walked to Route 30, and took the left side, instead of the right side that led to Mr Pokémon’s house (which I totally forgot to mention in the last chapter because I am just that amazing).  
Along the way, he caught a male Caterpie who he called Joel.  
‘Hey!’ A boy yelled at him as Aiden passed.  
He stopped and the kid walked over.  
‘I just lost a battle, so I’m trying to find more Pokémon,’ the kid said. ‘Wait, you look weak! C’mon, let’s battle!’  
Aiden glared at the kid, but brought his Pokémon none the less. The kid’s name was Joey, and he sent out a Rattata. Morgan flew out of his Pokéball, but Aiden called him back to send out Duncan, who was in better nick than the Pidgey. A Razor Leaf and a Tackle were all it took to defeat Joey.  
‘Look who’s weak now,’ Aiden taunted.  
Joey grumbled something, before his facial expression changed.  
‘Hey, can I get your number?’ Joey asked. ‘We’re both rookie trainers, so it’ll be a good motivator.’  
‘Sure, why not.’  
They swapped numbers before Aiden walked off to take his Pokémon back to the Pokémon Centre in Cherrygrove. As soon as his Pokémon were healed, his Pokégear rang. Joey told him about how awesome his Rattata was and how he managed to deal with a Pidgey easily, “us being so tough and all”. Aiden said nothing but “uh-huhs”, and was grateful when the call ended. He just met the dude and he was already being harassed by him!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every so often, I'll be breaking the fourth wall - because I can. Nikolai and Zach will take it in turns to fill in Silver's position, with the battles I've found tough being Zach. He /is/ a better trainer than them, after all.


End file.
